The Mumbai civic body on Wednesday presented a Rs. 33,514.15-crore budget for 2015-16 with a focus on infrastructure projects and proposal to open 10 new schools and set up computer labs in existing ones, provide tablets to Class 8 students and build more public toilets for women.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) tabled the Budget for the next financial year before the Standing Committee of India’s richest civic body.
BMC Commissioner Sitaram Kunte, while presenting the budget, said the total outlay will be Rs. 33,514.15 crore, an increase of 7 per cent from the previous year’s budget.
The civic body has earmarked Rs. 11,836 crore as capital expenditure, which will be used for infrastructure projects like roads and water.
It proposed to host a Mumbai cultural festival every year in December-January that will involve people of national and international eminence.
A provision of Rs. 25 lakh has been made for the festival that will be anchored by Maharashtra Tourism Department.
The BMC will acquire 126-hectare land in Taloja in adjoining Navi Mumbai to build a new dumping ground. Ten mini fire stations – three each in island city and western suburbs and the remaining in eastern suburbs – have been proposed.
A provision of Rs. 40 crore has been made for a new museum behind Dr. Bhau Daji Lad building, which already houses a museum, in Byculla, Central Mumbai. The construction work is expected to start in September.
The BMC has set aside an amount of Rs. 5.25 crore for building public toilet facilities for women in crowded areas.
The Corporation has introduced a pedestrian first policy, where 1.5-3 meter wide even footpaths with guard rails will be built for the safety of pedestrians.
Income from property tax is estimated at Rs. 4513.53 crore in 2015-16, up 14 per cent from last year.
Taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, BMC will draft a Rs. 20-crore sanitation plan for cleaning house lanes.
It has been proposed that all street lights will be converted into LED lights by September. A 35 paise per 1,000 litre water hike has been proposed for slum dwellers residing in hilly areas.
The BMC will establish 200 new computer laboratories in municipal schools and provide tablets to Class 8 students. It allocated Rs. 248.22 crore for building 10 new schools on open plots and will procure eco-friendly desks and benches so that civic school students do not sit on the floor.
